FAQ’s for Your Heating System

While the average life expectancy of a furnace is 15- 17 years, the best way to know when to replace your furnace comes during annual interactions with your HVAC Technician during the preventive maintenance, otherwise known as a tune-up or clean & check. A licensed certified hvac technician will be able to listen to your heating & cooling concerns, make suggestions & offer solutions, and assist in planning ahead with you to make your investment on a proactive basis, the best experience so there are no unexpected surprises or expensive surprises. You must have a relationship in place with a company you can trust to do this correctly.

Most heaters have two electric motors driving fans that can become restricted or out of balance due to dirt or airflow restrictions. The result is vibration that will produce noises wherever two surfaces are close enough to rub together. Continuous rattles, rumbles, squeaks, humming, (people use so many describing words for these) are going to need to be traced down, and the root problem corrected. Louder noise, such as booms, bangs, and anything that shakes the house is a very serious situation. Whenever you are in doubt, turn your heater off and call a professional contractor for help.

Getting annual maintenance or regular tune ups is the best way to ensure your heating system is running at peak efficiency. Making sure the system is clean & the filters are being changed regularly because this is an easy & inexpensive way to save money on your heating bill. If your heating system is over 10 years old or has needed frequent repairs it may be time to consider options for a new & high efficient furnace. High efficient furnaces may be a larger investment upfront; however you will see a significant reduction in your monthly heating bill.

Standard gas furnaces can be turned off during the summer simply by switch heat settings to cool settings on the thermostat. Some boiler systems are known to have a summer & winter mode setting on the thermostat or temperatures control. Turning the pilot light off on your heating system in order to decrease energy consumption & increase utility savings is a common myth & holds no truth.

A Trane High Efficient Model is always the best for your home in terms of efficiency & monthly savings. If you have plans to move in the near future & are not considered with the ongoing monthly energy savings, you many decide that a basic builders model is the right furnace for you. It is highly recommended that you receive an estimate (we recommend 1-3 estimates) from a professional, licensed Heating & Cooling Contractor. Make sure to invest in quality & name brands like Trane Heating & Cooling systems which provide both reliability & high quality. Trane furnaces go through extensive testing & come with amazing warranties so in the future if you do need any repairs your parts will most likely be covered by the manufacturer.

A well maintained furnace will last 15-20 years. Failure to receive proper maintenance from a licensed & professional HVAC Contractor can not only void your Manufacturer Warranty, but it can also lead to a shorter lifespan & pricey repairs. It’s also important to receive annual tune-ups for safety reasons. Furnaces have both electrical & gas components both of which can be potentially dangerous & even life threatening if not properly inspected.

With a new furnace install, this smell is oil that is used during the manufacturing process. On startup in the fall, sometimes you will notice the burning smell. Sometimes dirt and dust will buildup on the outside of the heat exchanger. It will burn off after the first few times running the furnace, this is normal.

Gas is going to be the most cost effective. Electric by far the most expensive.

If you have a 1” filter we recommend using a non pleated fiberglass filter. If you have a media cabinet, use the manufacturer filter.

1” filters should be replaced monthly. Media filters can be replaced every three to six months.

We recommend annual maintenance to ensure the system operates as safely and efficiently as possible.

Each individual home is unique & has different factors that come into play when determining the right furnace for your home. A proper load calculation must be performed to answer this question. Everything is taken in to account when doing this, down to the color of the shingles on the roof!

This is due to a variety of factors, and often is not due to one cause. Possible causes include the direction of the room (is it north or south facing, etc.), what floor the room is on, the amount of insulation in the attic, how many windows are in the room, if the room is above an unconditioned space such as a crawl space or garage, improperly sized duct work, etc.

The first part is receiving an estimate from one to three licensed, qualified heating & cooling contractor. Once you receive your estimates, make a decision on which company & equipment is best fit for you & your home needs. The next step is to contact the company you’ve selected & schedule the installation. The HVAC company will then order the equipment & materials & schedule an installation crew to complete the installation. The morning of the day of installation the Blue Frost Heating & Cooling crew will call, text & email you upon arrival to inform you with the estimated time of arrival. Upon arrival the crew will formerly introduce themselves, & will inspect the location the new equipment will be installed. They will be wearing shoe covers & laying down tarps to protect your home from outside dirt, dust & debris. They will then remove the old existing equipment & then will proceed to install the new equipment. Once the newly installed unit is completed the install team will cycle & test the equipment to ensure it is working properly & according to manufacturer specifications. Once completed the install crew will show you how it works & ensure you have a full understanding of how to safely operate it as well as answer any questions you may have. Your invoice will be emailed to you & the sales manager will follow up with you within 2 weeks to schedule a follow up visit to ensure you are happy with the installation & satisfied with your newly purchased equipment.

You know your furnace is broken if it is a) not producing heat, b) not producing enough heat, c) making irregular noise, d) giving off an abnormal odor, e) Leaking or producing excess condensation. If any of these things happen you will want to contact a licensed, qualified heating & cooling contractor like Blue Frost Heating & Cooling.

There are many benefits to upgrading to a high efficiency furnace. One of the great benefits you will instantly notice is how much money you will save on your utility bills each month! The energy savings puts money back in your pocket! Another reason it’s a good idea to switch to high efficiency furnaces is the rebates that you will quality for, some rebates you can receive up to $600 back in utility rebates alone! Another positive reason to switch is how quiet, yet powerful the equipment runs. Many non-high efficient furnaces run a lot longer & make a lot of noise; however with a high efficient furnace you will experience the exact opposite.

A new furnace will definitely add value to your new home! If you have plans to sell your home in the future a new furnace replacement will give future home buyers peace of mind knowing it’s new & will not need to be replaced for quite some time, meaning less money they need to plan on spending. A new high efficiency furnace will bring even more value to your home as home buyers will not only have peace in knowing they don’t need to replace their furnace, but also they will actually be saving money every month on their monthly utility bills!

It’s best to talk to your contractor to find out if there are any promotions or rebates either from the manufacturer directly, or from the utility companies. Sometimes there are really great seasonal promotions in the spring & fall that you can receive great incentives & many times 0% financing or cash back rebate options available.

Annual maintenance is the best way to prepare your heating system for the winter. Getting a furnace tune up by a professional, licensed HVAC Contractor like Blue Frost Heating & Cooling is the best way to achieve this. Make sure to program your thermostat on a set schedule so you are not wasting energy & money, while keeping your home at a comfortable temperature setting. Be sure to change your filters regularly too as this can clog up with dirt & debris causing your furnace to fail. Being proactive & performing these items is a great way to ensure your furnace is operating to it’s fullest potential.

The indoor humidity level should be set between 30-50% during the winter. Many factors come into play into the exact humidity level such as the year your house was built, the condition of your windows & doors, are there any air leaks, do you have wood furniture or wood flooring. Talk with you comfort specialist to find out the exact humidity level for you specific home to ensure you don’t have too much or too little indoor humidity levels in your home.

Your furnace may not be reaching the set temperature for a variety of reasons. It’s possible you have a dirty filter that needs to be changed. You could have a faulty thermostat or just need to change the batteries on your thermostat. It could be that the extreme cold temperatures outside are affecting the temperature in your home since most furnaces are not designed to operate in extremely low, below zero temps. There could also be a more serious underlining issue that requires you to contact a professional HVAC contractor who can best diagnosis & determine what is causing your furnace to not reach the temperature it is set at.

We are only able to install equipment that we supply. We do not install customer supplied furnaces as we are unable to provide warranties related to equipment we do not provide.

The 3 common heater issues are a cracked heat exchanger, ignition failure & faulty flame sensor

Both a heather & insulation are so important; however a new heater is probably the first step, followed by insulation. If you don’t have the proper levels of attic insulation you will experience a great deal of heat loss, which not only makes your heater work harder, but it decreases the unit’s efficiency level & increases your monthly utility bills.

The common repairs & adjustments that do not require a professional would be setting your schedule on a programmable thermostat & regularly changing your filter. Most manufacturers require a professional on repairs or cleanings in order to keep your warranty in tack. Calling a professional is the best way not to void that warranty & ensures the repairs & maintenance are being done the proper way.

Unlike the air conditioning which needs to be checked once 50-60* temperatures, a furnace tune up can be checked & maintenance at any time in fall or winter. Keeping your heating & cooling system clean is the most important thing to remember in every season.

Leaving the heater running constantly or at high temps is not bad for your furnace, but it will be working harder which can shorten the lifespan of the equipment as well as decreases its efficiency levels. Monthly utility bills will also be much higher if you continue to let your furnace run all the time.

A two-stage heating system means that the furnace has two settings. Different from a single stage furnace the two-stage does not need to run at top capacity once it powers on. On days when there is less heat desired, or warmer days a two stage furnace can be set to a lower setting which both increases the efficiency (which also saves you money on your monthly energy bills) & also lengthens the lifespan of the heating system itself.